The Advanced Valuation Rulings (AVRs) will be a written decision made by Customs authorities at the trader's request and will be legally binding for both parties. The decision will relate to the specified goods and scenario for a period of three years, subject to cancellation or withdrawal.

We already have advanced rulings concerning tariff classification and the origin of goods. This new legislation on AVRs will allow the UK to align itself with other Customs authorities worldwide and step away from EU Legislation. The EU does not currently offer Advanced Valuation Rulings.   Additionally, it will allow the UK to meet the new Free Trade Agreement requirements.

As with Advanced Tariff Rulings and Advanced Origin Rulings, this is a trade facilitation measure, and AVRS will not be mandatory.

What does the new Advanced Tariff Ruling mean for me as a trader?

If you are involved in international trade and are responsible for importing goods into the UK or making Customs declarations on behalf of others, this may affect you.

This UK legislation will allow traders to apply for an Advanced Valuation Ruling and provide them with a legally binding decision before their goods are imported into the UK. This will give traders certainty on how their goods will be treated regarding the import duty implications. It aims to simplify the means of identifying the correct method of valuation, as AVRs will provide the proper valuation methodology to be used in the calculation of the Customs duties, ensuring that accurate duty calculations are applied to the goods. Additionally, businesses can rely on a single ruling for multiple imports, if the goods and other factors that the ruling is based on are the same.

In addition to assisting traders, this is also a move by HMRC towards the government’s objective to deliver a modern digital service for UK traders. And supports the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

You can access the full policy paper here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-customs-advance-valuation-rulings?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=53d22f0c-1e44-464b-83cb-324a1881a627&utm_content=immediately

While you are here you may be interested in some Strong & Herd LLP training courses related to this topic:

Valuing Goods for Customs Purposes

Customs Compliance Review

Company Audit / Health Check